Thread: UPS crackdown hits workers, spares business

UPS crackdown hits workers, spares business
By Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporter
DARIO LOPEZ-MILLS / AP

A year after one of King County's biggest work-site raids, fully two-thirds of the 51 illegal immigrants arrested have either been deported or told to leave the country.

But no charges have been brought against Spherion, the employment agency that hired the immigrants, or UPS Supply Chain Solutions, the UPS subsidiary that operated the two Auburn warehouses where they worked.

The results are consistent with an ongoing enforcement pattern: Even as the Department of Homeland Security talks big about cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants — grabbing headlines in some high-profile cases — it's generally the workers who take the hardest hit. Actions against employers are still relatively rare.

Nationally, arrests of undocumented workers more than tripled between 2005 and 2007. And last year, while such arrests increased more than 11 percent from the year before, the number of employers criminally charged declined.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials explain that it's far tougher to build a criminal case showing an employer knowingly hired an illegal immigrant than to prove that an immigrant is working in the U.S. illegally.

That's in part because current federal law does not require employers to verify the immigration status of prospective workers, so many simply accept at face value the documents workers show them.

Only 53,000 of the nation's estimated 10 million employers are signed up to use the E-Verify federal database, through which they can verify the Social Security numbers of newly hired workers.

Critics say immigration officials shouldn't allow employers to hide behind legal loopholes.

"In general, if they really want to send a strong message about illegal immigration, they'll start marching some suits out of buildings in handcuffs," said Ira Mehlman, Seattle-based spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports strong immigration controls.

"When some of the executives start facing criminal prosecution, the employer down the street will say maybe I don't want to take that chance."

Promises of action

In recent weeks, Homeland Security has been vowing anew to crack down on employers of illegal immigrants.

The U.S. attorney general joined the department recently in announcing a 25 percent increase in penalties — the first in more than a decade — for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Under the plan, which takes effect March 27, the minimum penalty for willingly hiring an unauthorized worker will go from $275 to $375. The maximum penalty will jump from $2,200 to $3,200, and the maximum for multiple violations will increase from $11,000 to $16,000.

And Homeland Security expects soon to announce new rules to force employers to act when they receive notices about employees whose Social Security numbers don't match their names. Currently there are no penalties for ignoring such notices.

All this comes as several states, including Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia, have passed laws penalizing employers of illegal immigrants. The states were responding to Congress' failure to pass immigration legislation, and some are now seeing a gradual exodus of illegal immigrants.

"Pursuing criminal charges is a major priority for us," said Lorie Dankers, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We look at the evidence available to determine if it's enough to pursue criminal charges [against employers]."

And sometimes it is.

Last summer, immigration agents raided a Fresh Del Monte Produce complex in Portland where only 48 of the nearly 600 employees had valid Social Security numbers.

Agents had carefully built a criminal case that focused on an employment agency, American Staffing Resources, detailing how its managers helped some of the workers get phony Social Security numbers so they could work.

More than 160 illegal-immigrant workers were arrested, and two managers from the staffing agency are facing criminal prosecution. One has already been sentenced.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle has attorneys working on such cases, and "there are investigations under way here," said spokeswoman Emily Langlie.

Such cases are labor-intensive for several reasons, she said.

"One defense is the good-faith belief that employees had legitimate documentation when they obtained their jobs," Langlie said.

And because knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant is a misdemeanor — not a felony — building a case that carries serious penalties means investigators must determine whether crimes such as money laundering or identity theft were committed, and then find substantial evidence to show that.

"So while it might seem to outsiders that we should be able to pursue them criminally, these are not simple cases to put together," Langlie said.

In the UPS case, Dankers said while there might not be enough information to bring charges now, that doesn't mean that it couldn't happen at some point. "If you ask me if any investigation is ever closed, the answer is no," she said.

Spherion, which continues to staff the UPS plants, did not return telephone calls seeking comment. At UPS, a spokeswoman said operations were back to normal within a day of the raid and the company continues to contract with Spherion to staff its facilities.

"We went back and certainly reviewed our measures and had discussions with Spherion to ensure workers at our facility are authorized to work," spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said.

"We've had no other issues with work force in that location. Really, it was a nonevent for us ... ."

20 deported

Not so for the workers.

"The whole community was spooked," recalls Dianne Aid of St. Matthew Episcopal Church in Auburn, where some of the workers worshipped.

It was on Valentine's Day last year that immigration agents swarmed the two UPS plants, arresting workers who had used a number of counterfeit identity documents, including fraudulent Social Security numbers, to obtain their jobs.

Among them was a mother of six who had been at the UPS job seven months when agents arrested and detained her and the other 50 workers from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Twenty people were deported over the next few months, and an immigration judge allowed another 13 to leave the country voluntarily.

Over the next few weeks, those released on bond are to appear before an immigration judge to plead their cases for remaining in the U.S. Most are seeking a common form of relief called cancellation of deportation.

To make this claim, immigrants must have been in the country at least 10 years and be able to prove that their deportation would cause extreme hardship to an immediate family member who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

The standard for proving such cases is high, but the Tacoma mother is hoping she can meet it.

Five of her six children, ranging in ages from 5 to 21, were born in the U.S. and her 17-year-old has a child of her own. All would be out of place in Mexico, she said.

"My children were born here, and I wouldn't want to take them to a country they know nothing about," she said in Spanish.

The woman, who owns a small home in Tacoma, said a friend had recommended her for the UPS job and she had used a fake Social Security number to apply for and get it.

It was steady work, and the pay, at $9 an hour, wasn't bad.

Since the raid, she's had odd jobs and most recently has worked at a recycling plant.

"When I'm working, things are good," she said. "I don't need handouts for my children. We don't take public assistance because if I work, I can support them and we do well."

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... ps09m.html

There was , once a time . College kids worked UPS part time and made good money . UPS where i live doesn't pay any more. And that employment agency is big a round here. Makes me go Hmmm . I see the point with Fines for the Employer . These Company's aren't American any more . There all International with no loyalty.

Five of her six children, ranging in ages from 5 to 21, were born in the U.S. and her 17-year-old has a child of her own. All would be out of place in Mexico, she said.

"My children were born here, and I wouldn't want to take them to a country they know nothing about," she said in Spanish.

The woman, who owns a small home in Tacoma, said a friend had recommended her for the UPS job and she had used a fake Social Security number to apply for and get it.

It was steady work, and the pay, at $9 an hour, wasn't bad.

Since the raid, she's had odd jobs and most recently has worked at a recycling plant.

"When I'm working, things are good," she said. "I don't need handouts for my children. We don't take public assistance because if I work, I can support them and we do well."

Okay this one wins the prize. This woman willingly came here illegally with one child and she didn't know anything about America. She then went on to have FIVE MORE children, (no mention of who fathered all these anchors) she is claiming as AMERICANS, she owns a home and yet IN SPANISH she is claiming they would be out of place in Mexico?

Yet she's here commiting all types of criminal acts and occasionally collecting welfare when things aren't good? What is wrong with this picture? How many of us would be able to get away with this insanity without serving jail time?

Originally Posted by tencz57

There was , once a time . College kids worked UPS part time and made good money . UPS where i live doesn't pay any more. And that employment agency is big a round here. Makes me go Hmmm . I see the point with Fines for the Employer . These Company's aren't American any more . There all International with no loyalty.

Exactly. Spherion is huge in Chicago. I am a legal assistant and several years ago I applied for a position through them. I was told that they run criminal background checks on everyone who applies there so, the fact that illegals were placed there IMHO is obviously willful hiring of illegals. Unless of course they only run backgorund checks on Americans.

And because knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant is a misdemeanor — not a felony — building a case that carries serious penalties means investigators must determine whether crimes such as money laundering or identity theft were committed, and then find substantial evidence to show that.

"So while it might seem to outsiders that we should be able to pursue them criminally, these are not simple cases to put together," Langlie said.

With that in mind any of us who make a complaint to ICE should also do a little groundwork: How can you show the employer "knew" the workers were illegal? Be able to show that a lot of them could barely speak English--or--perhaps show that they were breaking other laws that a true US citizen would know. Were their statements made by persons of trust, executives, officers, etc. that would show that they knew the real circumstances?

I'm working on some complaints: I have been printing off public statements. press releases, web documents, news articles----anything I can find that would further substantiate the violations. I am also looking at some associated law violations as well as complicit knowledge by other parties. Should be fun.

Five of her six children, ranging in ages from 5 to 21, were born in the U.S. and her 17-year-old has a child of her own. All would be out of place in Mexico, she said.

"My children were born here, and I wouldn't want to take them to a country they know nothing about," she said in Spanish.

The woman, who owns a small home in Tacoma, said a friend had recommended her for the UPS job and she had used a fake Social Security number to apply for and get it.

It was steady work, and the pay, at $9 an hour, wasn't bad.

Since the raid, she's had odd jobs and most recently has worked at a recycling plant.

"When I'm working, things are good," she said. "I don't need handouts for my children. We don't take public assistance because if I work, I can support them and we do well."

My god. If this is the typical behavior of the illegal invader, this country is absolutely gone unless we make E-verify mandadory for EVERY business in this country who hires workers.

This woman has 6 anchors and now a 17 yeard old who has started breeding. This woman acts if she is doing this country a favor by securing work with fradulent social security number so she does not have to go on public assistance for her anchors. This is the typical third world mentality that the majority of these people seem to gravitate towards.

This makes me absolutely sick to believe this is the kind of garbage that employers and our politicians are trying to protect by not making E-Verify mandatory!

tencz57 wrote:

There was , once a time . College kids worked UPS part time and made good money . UPS where i live doesn't pay any more. And that employment agency is big a round here. Makes me go Hmmm . I see the point with Fines for the Employer . These Company's aren't American any more . There all International with no loyalty.

Your absolutely right tencz! I was one of them some years back(not that long ago). I loaded trucks on the second shift and went to class during the day(and played on the baseball team). It was hard work , but it was a good job at the time.

Now I would suppose it would be impossible for a college student to secure that type of work since the illegal invaders have moved in and are doing it for minimum wage.

Originally Posted by NoBueno

Five of her six children, ranging in ages from 5 to 21, were born in the U.S. and her 17-year-old has a child of her own. All would be out of place in Mexico, she said.

"My children were born here, and I wouldn't want to take them to a country they know nothing about," she said in Spanish.

The woman, who owns a small home in Tacoma, said a friend had recommended her for the UPS job and she had used a fake Social Security number to apply for and get it.

It was steady work, and the pay, at $9 an hour, wasn't bad.

Since the raid, she's had odd jobs and most recently has worked at a recycling plant.

"When I'm working, things are good," she said. "I don't need handouts for my children. We don't take public assistance because if I work, I can support them and we do well."

My god. If this is the typical behavior of the illegal invader, this country is absolutely gone unless we make E-verify mandadory for EVERY business in this country who hires workers.

This woman has 6 anchors and now a 17 yeard old who has started breeding. This woman acts if she is doing this country a favor by securing work with fradulent social security number so she does not have to go on public assistance for her anchors. This is the typical third world mentality that the majority of these people seem to gravitate towards.

This makes me absolutely sick to believe this is the kind of garbage that employers and our politicians are trying to protect by not making E-Verify mandatory!

That's exactly how I read it too. The fact that her daughter is already well on her way to the welfare rolls is just as disturbing.

Know that these unscrupulous employers know they are hiring illegals. Of course their defense will be that they are not allowed to ask about status. That's another no-brainer rule that should be abolished along with the 14th.

And these fines are a joke, they should be more like 20g per worker.Get ride of the min/max and make a hefty mandatory fine.

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